Dress-Up

20112009

Kevin Levin has posted this articleover at Civil War Memory. I have no dog in this fight: I am not nor have I ever been a re-enactor or “living historian”, whatever that means. And I don’t attend – purposely, anyway – re-enactments. I was vaguely planning to be in the area for the 150th anniversary of the battle, in part because I’ve been considering joining the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, and friend Robert Moore tells me the national convention of that organization is planned for 2011 in Manassas. $350,000 ($100,000 from Manassas, $250,000 from the State of Virginia) seems like a lot of scratch, even in these times when government dollars are basically Monopoly money.

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Thanks for the kind words re: my anniversary. I just wanted to follow up on my post to clarify that I am not suggesting that reenactments are not appropriate events for the sesquicentennial. It’s not my cup of tea, but clearly there are people who enjoy it and I have no problem with that. My concern is with the state funding and its endorsement of the Virginia Sesquicentennial Commission. I took some time to look up the board members of the Virginia Civil War Events Inc. and they all seem to be involved in local government and boosterism. I wonder if you can add anything about this group.

I’m not offering an opinion on re-enactments either, as I said I have no dog in the fight. They don’t appeal to me, but I don’t object to them.

I don’t know anything about the groups in question – I’m far away in Pittsburgh and not involved in any way with what goes on down there, and that’s doubtless a good thing for them and me.

I haven’t seen the reaction to the upcoming sesquicentennial that many were expecting, but I think it has less to do with “the economy” and more to do with the myriad opportunites out there for folks to experience the history of the Civil War – we don’t need sesquicentennial events because we’ve got events out the wazoo all year round, every year.

There’s something unpalatable about the blatant way “heritage tourism” types are approaching these things – they come across as Tom and Jerry with those big dollar signs in their eyeballs. And the thought of them being in charge of sesquicentennial commemorations is disturbing. There’s a big difference between saying “if we build it, they will come” and “if we build it this way, more will come.”

I, like you, see $350K as a “load of money.” Might even pay off my mortgage. But as far as “big” events go (not talking just CW Reenactments) that isn’t out of band. Many years back I was involved with several localized events. What struck me was how many things sort of “pile on” to the event cost. The operating expenses cover everything from hay and fodder to advertising to the little green rooms. Some venues require grounds fees (likely in this case as the event is held on private land). I’ve seen some events pay for emergency services, or have to reimburse the local agencies for such. Oh, and don’t forget the insurance policy on the whole thing! Can’t be left hanging if some crazed reenactor goes postal! And all this must have a nice pile of legal documents…..

Honestly, I think the people who “make money” on these events are really the suppliers and agents offering the supporting services.

I’ve listened to a few of the pitches with regard to this event. Doesn’t seem like they are in the Tom and Jerry mode here. A few of the objectives are, at least on the surface, altruistic – more interpretation, preservation, etc. We shall see. Let’s not be hasty to judge a book by the cover.

Dulce bellum inexpertis

“I am sending you these little incidents as I hear them well authenticated. They form, to the friends of the parties, part of the history of the glorious 21st. More anon.”

About

Hello! I’m Harry Smeltzer and welcome to Bull Runnings, where you'll find my digital history project on the First Battle of Bull Run which is organized under the Bull Run Resources section. I'll also post my thoughts on the processes behind the project and commentary on the campaign, but pretty much all things Civil War are fair game. You'll only find musings on my “real job” or my personal life when they relate to this project. My mother always told me "never discuss politics or religion in mixed company”, and that's sound advice where current events are concerned.

The Project

This site is more than a blog. Bull Runnings also hosts digitized material pertaining to First Bull Run. In the Bull Run Resources link in the masthead and also listed below are links to Orders of Battle, After Action Reports, Official Correspondence, Biographical Sketches, Diaries, Letters, Memoirs, Newspaper Accounts and much, much more. Take some time to surf through the material. This is a work in process with no end in sight, so check back often!